Florida football misuses Facebook, commits four minor NCAA violations

GAINESVILLE — The Facebook walls of recruits have become big parties for NCAA rules confusion.

Even college coaches are bringing chips and dip.

In the last month, Southeastern Conference schools Florida and Ole Miss have faced secondary NCAA violations for coaches posting messages on a recruit's Facebook wall.

An opposing school turned the Florida football program into the SEC for improper use of Facebook as part of the program's four secondary NCAA violations committed in the last year, UF revealed in response to an open-records request from the Orlando Sentinel.

Facebook walls are considered open forums and, therefore, against NCAA rules. Coaches can send direct messages through Facebook because it's similar to an e-mail.

But with hundreds of high-profile recruits posting pictures and making their own announcements online, coaches must navigate this necessary evil with savvy, Rivals.com recruiting analyst Jeremy Crabtree said.

"Coaches will use it to every advantage," Crabtree said. "In the day and age we're in, these coaches want to be on same page as kids. Therefore they can say it's easier to do it in their world than in ours."

David Wells, Ole Miss' senior associate athletics director for compliance, knows firsthand that schools' monitoring of vast social networking is a challenge.

The Rebels faced a minor recruiting violation after an Ole Miss assistant reportedly posted two photos on the page belonging to Jermaine Whitehead, a cornerback out of Greenwood, Miss., who is committed to Mississippi State. The photos appeared to be recruiting letters from Ole Miss but made in promotional poster format, according to the Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger.

Wells says the assistant coach thought he was posting into the recruit's direct message box and did not intend to share the content.

"It's very difficult to prevent this other than through educational message," Wells said.

Florida's case involved a whistle-blowing school that reported a Gators assistant posting comments on the Facebook walls of two recruits on Aug. 5. Florida then self-reported an assistant's Facebook wall posting to a recruit on Aug. 7, a separate violation.

The names of the assistant coaches or the opposing school were not revealed in Florida's records. For each offense, the coach was reminded of the interpretation and prohibited from written recruiting communication for a two-week period.

The Sentinel requested all major and secondary violations committed by the UF football team from June 1, 2009, to June 15, 2010. Florida also self-reported violations for "impermissible protective gear" on Sept. 11, which led to conduct rules education with the coaches and equipment staff, and two assistants calling a recruit twice in the same week on Oct. 29. As punishment for the calls, Florida prohibited its staff from calling the recruit for a two-week period.

The NCAA has a Recruiting and Athletics Personnel Issues Cabinet that reviews the latest social-networking issues with recruiting and solicits feedback for the best methods of navigation, according to Cameron Schuh, the NCAA's associate director of communications.

If a rule becomes controversial, enacting a change in the legislature can take up to a year, Schuh said. Rule 13,4.1.2 regarding electronic transmissions doesn't mention social-media outlets such as Facebook, MySpace or Twitter, which have their own nuances.

"NCAA member institutions maintain concern over the level of intrusiveness the recruiting process can create for a high school student who is a prospective student-athlete," Schuh said.

Wells agrees that schools must respect the privacy of recruits. But as those recruits enhance their viral accessibility, he said, coaches, boosters and fans continue to cross paths with them.

Ole Miss dedicates staff and resources to monitoring the behavior of Rebels athletes and coaches online, Wells said, but fans are harder to contain.

The list of prominent blue-chippers once persuaded by fans to join a school includes former Kentucky forward Patrick Patterson and Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor.

"Sometimes we tend to over-regulate," Wells said. "I'm more concerned about who's not allowed to represent a university, because someone who is representing you can eventually be monitored and understand the rules."

Challenges with Facebook don't appear to be going away any time soon. Crabtree said some recruits might not return a phone call, but they will respond to a Facebook message.

"It's a useful tool, no doubt," Crabtree said. "But what's the difference in a call or a text, because it's all sort of the same now?"

Read Jeremy Fowler's blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/swampthings and e-mail him at jfowler@orlandosentinel.com. Subscribe to our College Sports e-mail newsletter at OrlandoSentinel.com/newsletters.